Baseball: a home run in Orange County barrios

The authors of "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County" spoke about the book at the Fullerton Public Library on March 28, 2013. From left are Luis F. Fernandez, Richard A. Santillan, Angelina F. Veyna and Susan C. Luevano. RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Get involved

What: Richard A. Santillan, a professor emeritus of ethnic and women’s studies at Cal Poly Pomona, is documenting Mexican American baseball from the late 1800s to 1960, an era when the sport played an important role in promoting Mexican American civil rights. He is seeking photos depicting players and teams, including men and women, from Orange County, California, and throughout the United States.

How it works: Selected photos, which are scanned, may be published in a book series, and are also archived with other memorabilia at the Latino Baseball History Project at Cal State San Bernardino. Contributors keep the original photos.

Information: rsantillan@earthlink.net

They toiled in the packing sheds and citrus groves of Orange County. They served their nation during World War II, from the Philippines to Europe, and served again in Korea. They were pioneers of the Mexican American civil rights movement.

And they played baseball.

The photos and stories of dozens of Mexican American baseball players, from the early 1900s in San Juan Capistrano to the early 1960s in communities ranging from Placentia to Huntington Beach, have been told in a new book that will be available Monday.

"Mexican American Baseball in Orange County" is the third in a series of books about Mexican Americans and America's pastime – books that cover not just the sport, but how the sport helped shape the early barrios of California and other states, and the people who live in them.

The Orange County book was written by Richard A. Santillan, professor emeritus at Cal Poly Pomona, and three Orange County residents: Susan C. Luevano, a librarian at Cal State Long Beach; Luis F. Fernandez, who works in the history room of the Santa Ana Public Library; and Angelina F. Veyna, a history professor at Santa Ana College.

The book is distinct from two earlier books in the series, on Mexican American baseball in Los Angeles and in the Inland Empire, because it includes a number of non-sports photos – among nearly 200 – to help tell the story of the Mexican American community in Orange County, including such areas as school segregation, the citrus industry and even the small businesses that Latino entrepreneurs ran – entrepreneurs who backed not just sports teams, but organizations engaged in the struggle for civil rights.

"The Orange County book was the closest we've come to establishing the real sense of what we mean when we involve the community and invite the community to write its own history," said Santillan, who has worked on all three projects. "We don't write the stories, we don't write the captions. The families do. The friends do...They talk how baseball was an instrument that was used to knock down barriers of discrimination. Baseball wasn't simply a game."

The authors note that the book, with photos reflecting seven decades of Mexican American history, also reflects the historical backdrop against which the sport was played, including the Depression, the repatriation of American citizens to Mexico, and the fight against school segregation.

"Mexican American baseball history intertwined with the social, cultural and political struggle of Mexican Americans in Orange County," said Fernandez, of Garden Grove. "Aside from being managers, umpires, coaches and players, they were leaders of their own communities on and off the baseball field. With the swing of the bat, with the steal of a base, and with the grip of the glove, they made advances in civil rights to ensure that their sons and daughters could simply play."

Many families remember that Sundays were a day for church, and for baseball. Baseball, he said, gave Mexican American communities the means "to socialize and to organize politically."

One photo in the book shows an El Modena team with brothers Silvino and Ignacio Ramirez. Their father, Lorenzo Ramirez, was an umpire. Lorenzo and wife Josefina were among five Orange County families who sued to desegregate Mexican schools in Orange County in the landmark Mendez et al versus Westminster School District et al court case of 1947.

"The diamond field where they played in El Modena divided the Lincoln Mexican school from the white Roosevelt School," Fernandez said.

Pioneering Mexican American entrepreneurs, Veyna said, were active on a number of fronts – providing financial support for the sports teams, and backing for civil rights organizations such the League of United Latin American Citizens as well as for mutual aid societies of Mexican immigrants such as Sociedad Progresista Mexicana. They included such men as her father, Placido Veyna, who ran Pete's Market in Anaheim, and Cruz Barrios, who ran a market in Santa Ana.

"Besides socializing, besides having a good time, these are the persons who fought for the civil rights of our community," said Veyna, an Anaheim resident whose family settled there in 1916.

A number of the photos include the late Gualberto J. Valadez. He came to Placentia in 1939 to teach Spanish and physical education at the segregated La Jolla Junior High, and became an early leader of the Mexican American civil rights movement in Southern California during the 1940s. He was a gifted coach, from young boys who played baseball to young women – like the La Jolla Kats - who played softball.

Related Links

The authors of "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County" spoke about the book at the Fullerton Public Library on March 28, 2013. From left are Luis F. Fernandez, Richard A. Santillan, Angelina F. Veyna and Susan C. Luevano. RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The cover of "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County" includes an image of Ray Ortez. He played baseball and softball in Anaheim during he 1930s. "Besides playing ball in high school, he went on to play for teams in Arizona and Utah," the book said. The book was scheduled for release April 8, 2013. KATE LUCAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The La Habra Aces played sandlot softball together from 1947 to 1951. Pictured here in 1949 are team members, left to right, first row, Mary Ruelas, Lucy Navarro, Evangelina Morales, Virginia De la Torre, Nellie Miranda and Rachel Zuniga. In the second row are Magdalena Verduzco, Rosie Garcia, Delfina Cordova, Sally Rodriguez, Amelia Zuniga and coach Bobby Gomez. This photo appears in "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." COURTESY OF AMELIA ZUNIGA
The Eastside Athlete Club, active from 1947 to 1958, was a men's fast-pitch softball team that participated in the Fullerton City League. Pictured, left to right, first row, are Arthur Rodriguez, Hank Ballard, Joe Juarez, Rudy Perez, Arthur Suarez (batboy), Eddie Montoya, Frank Munoz and Rudy Gomez. In the second row are David Hernandez, Robert Ruiz, Roger Gonzalez, unidentified, Phil Hernandez, Rudy Gonzalez, William Garcia, Frank Zuniga and Buddy Marmolejo. In the third row are sponsor Mario Luzar, sponsor Victor Sandoval, coach Raymond Juarez and sponsor Frank Dominguez.The photo appears in "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." "MEXICAN AMERICAN BASEBALL IN ORANGE COUNTY"
At a 2011 event held to gather photos, a group of men who played baseball years ago shared photos and stories about playing ball in Placentia as boys and young men. From left to right, they are Carlos Felipe, Placentia; Frank Aguirre, Anaheim; Joe Felipe, Placentia; Ted Herrera, Orange; Frank Rangel, Placentia; Joe Juarez, Fullerton; Jim Segovia, an Orange resident who grew up in Placentia; and Matt Encinas, Porterville. The event was held at Kramer Park in Placentia. RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Frank Rangel, 91, of Placentia, appears in this photo at the top left. He said it was taken when the team, the Placentia Merchants, played a team from Cananea, Mexico, at White Sox Park in Boyle Heights. The girls came from Placentia to cheer the team on. Manager Tommy Munoz is at bottom left. Rangel shared the photo with researcher Richard A. Santillan. A nearly identical photo appears in "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Richard Mendez, center, attended a gathering at Santa Ana College last year where families offered photos for "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." With him are sons Randy Mendez, left, and Rick Mendez, right. Richard Mendez grew up in the Santa Anita neighborhood of Santa Ana, but played baseball for the Colonia Seventeenth Road Kings baseball team. The photo Richard is holding was published in the book. COURTESY OF MARTY GRAJEDA
Gualberto J. Valadez, upper right, started teaching at La Jolla Elementary and Junior High School in 1939. He is remembered for founding after-school sports programs for both boys and girls as well as providing adult education classes for their parents. This photo appears in book, "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." COURTESY OF THE GUALBERTO J. VALADEZ FAMILY
Jesse Flores was one of the first Mexican-born ballplayers to make it into the big leagues, developing his skills on the sandlots of La Habra. His family settled in El Campo Colorado, or Red Camp, a citrus workers' community, in 1923. He is pictured here in his Los Angeles Angels uniform around 1940. He went on to have a 53-year career as a big league player and scout. The photo appears in "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." COURTESY OF AL MOLINA
Helen Parga Moraga, in this 1936 photo, plays baseball with her family during a weekend outing in Sycamore Flats. Parga began playing softball two years earlier while attending Franklin Grammar School in Santa Ana. The photo appears in "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
This mid-1940s photo of the La Jolla Kats appears in "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." Coach Gualberto J. Valadez is at left. COURTESY OF ORANGE COUNTY MEXICAN AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
This is among the photos gathered at a Placentia event in 2011 that appear in the book, "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County." It depicts the La Jolla Junior High Red Devils in 1944, according to a caption in the book by the family of Gualberto J. Valadez. He appears at the upper left. RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Gualberto "Bert" Valadez, who was 91 when this photo was taken in 2004, coached the La Jolla Kats girls softball team in the 1940s -- mostly Mexican American girls from the La Jolla barrio in Placentia. According to "Mexican American Baseball in Orange County," the team "unified the Atwood, Richfield and La Jolla neighborhoods." The photo that Valadez is holding appears in the book. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.